Judges 20:1-6

Resolve to Punish the Guilty

1 Then all the sons of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead, came out, and the congregation assembled as one man to the LORD at ¹Mizpah.

2 The chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, took their stand in the assembly of the people of God, 400,000 * * foot soldiers ²who drew the sword.

3 (Now the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the sons of Israel said, "Tell us, how did this wickedness take place?"

4 So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, "I came with my concubine to spend the night at Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin.

5 "But the ³men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night because of me. They intended to kill me; instead, they ⁴ravished my concubine so that she died.

6 "And I ⁵took hold of my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her throughout the land of Israel's inheritance; for ⁶they have committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel.

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Judges 20:1-6 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JUDGES 20

This chapter relates, how that there was an assembly of the children of Israel at Mizpeh, upon what had happened to the concubine of the Levite, where he appeared and related the whole affair to them, Jud 20:1-7 upon which they unanimously agreed to chastise the inhabitants of Gibeah for what they had done, Jud 20:8-11, and in order to do that sent to the tribe of Benjamin to deliver the guilty, but instead of that they took to their arms, and prepared for battle in defence of them, Jud 20:12-17 and two battles ensued on this, in which the Israelites, who were on the right side of the question, were worsted, Jud 20:18-25 but upon their seeking the Lord again, and their humiliation before him, they engaged a third time in battle, and got an entire victory over the Benjaminites, and destroyed them all excepting six hundred men, Jud 20:26-48.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 6

1. 1 Samuel 7:5
2. Judges 8:10
3. Judges 19:22
4. Judges 19:25
5. Judges 19:29
6. Genesis 34:7; Joshua 7:15

Footnotes 2

[a]. Lit "cornerstones"
[b]. Lit "men"